


Next time I see you

by Yullenslullaby



Series: 5+1 [1]
Category: Monsta X (Band), SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: I'm Sorry, M/M, Mutual Pining, everything's so awkward, happy birthday wen junhui!!, junhui's a college student, kihyungwon are wonho's married best friends lmao, wonho owns a liquor store
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-09
Updated: 2017-06-09
Packaged: 2018-11-12 02:50:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,513
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11152674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yullenslullaby/pseuds/Yullenslullaby
Summary: The five times Junhui went in to buy cigarettes + the one he didn’t.





	Next time I see you

**Author's Note:**

> Hello!  
> 1\. English is not my native language so there WILL be mistakes and awkward wording! My writing skills are also really bad so this is basically a mess. I'm really sorry for that!  
> 2\. This is a totally self indulgent Junhui appreciation fanfic involving two of my ults crushing on each other lmao (never forget [this iconic video of Junhui admitting on checking Wonho out](https://twitter.com/wonhocity/status/808682262732636162)).  
> 3\. Wonho's liquor shop looks something like this: [[x]](http://cuantocuestaweb.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/estanco-1.jpg), [[x]](http://www.diariodelavega.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/estanco-orihuela-segundo-premio-el-ni%C3%B1o-1024x577.jpeg). I'm not sure if it fits what you'd call a ''liquor shop'' since it's written with the image of a spanish estanco in mind lmao but yeah that's not really very relevant for the story i hope?? 
> 
> Anyways, Happy Birthday to Junhui and I hope you enjoy this actual mess!

 

 

1.

 

Hoseok looks up from the magazine he’s reading to see a raven haired man standing in front of him and, after releasing a breath, puts it down on the counter. 

 

“You again? I’m starting to think you just wanna see me,” he says with a light voice that could pass as playful, smiling widely at the man who looks unimpressed. 

 

“Oh, maybe I do. It may also have to do with the fact that this is the only place in this whole neighborhood that sells the cigarettes I like.” 

 

Hoseok raises an eyebrow at the exasperated tone. 

 

“Easy there, kid. Bad day?” He turns to take a packet of his customer’s usual as the boy’s voice fills the empty liquor shop again. Hoseok likes the sound of it, soft and velvety with an endearing accent. 

 

“One of my professors just cancelled his morning class last minute and now I’m sleep deprived as fuck because I had to stay writing a paper for another class most of the night. Do you have any idea how I could do with the hour and a half of extra sleep this could’ve meant?” He takes some cash from his coat’s pocket with a frown on his face, making a point of expressing his frustration as he slams the bill on the counter. He looks up at Hoseok and drops his shoulders, sighing. It pretty much seems like a silent apology to the blonde so he doesn't bother mentioning on the gesture. 

 

“Of course you’d be a college zombie,” he says instead, taking the other’s hand that was still over the bill and moving it to take the money and put it in the register. He’s counting the change when the boy speaks again.  

 

“I mean, I’m not really that bad; you’d have to see my roommate to know what an actual college zombie looks like, but I guess you’re not wrong either.” 

 

There’s a small smile on his lips when Hoseok looks back at him and it’s in that exact moment that some realizations hit the older: one, the boy has some unbelievably cute moles all over his face; two,  _ holy shit he’s gorgeous _ and three, he probably shouldn’t be thinking about how attractive his customer is. 

 

“Uh, yeah…” He replies distractedly as he hands some coins back to the taller. “Tell him to come sometime. I’ll give him some energy gums if it’s that much of a bad case.”

 

2.

 

He’s back five days later. 

 

Hoseok doesn’t notice him at first, doesn't even register the sound of the bell in the entrance chiding at the new presence; too busy adoring the usual kids that had entered the shop to buy candy (they got most of it free anyways because Hoseok has a soft spot for children and he wouldn’t dare make such  _ tiny precious beings _ spend all their pocket money in shabby, overpriced sweets). So, it comes as a surprise when he follows the now leaving kids with his gaze and his attention focuses on the taller man instead. The feeling is, however, mostly caused by the wooly hat his customer’s wearing, the kind you’d wear when it’s snowing. 

 

He looks outside for a second, eyebrow rising. It’s a regular day in the summer season for Seoul, hot temperature and sun shining in a sky free of clouds. 

 

“Don’t you think it’s too hot for that?” He vaguely points the clothing with his chin as the other approaches the counter. 

 

“I know, okay. I’m boiling under it, no need to remind me of my suffering.” Other than that, the guy’s wearing a thin hoodie and some ripped dark jeans(a backpack hanging from his shoulders). Nothing as unusual. 

 

“So, why are you wearing it then?”

 

“I, uh… dyed my hair.” He looks uncharacteristically shy about it, Hoseok thinks there may even be a bit of a blush on his cheeks. 

 

“What’s so wrong about that? Is it some crazy neon color that didn't turn out quite well or…?” 

 

“Hell, no! I thankfully do a better job at taking decisions than that. It’s just a dark shade of blonde I guess, but I look... weird with it.” 

 

“It can’t be so bad, blonde suits basically everyone.”

 

“But it  _ is _ that bad. I also thought it wouldn't at first, it was just blonde, how much harm could it do? I could definitely be a supportive roommate and do that for Jihoon, but…” He doesn’t finish his sentence, a heavy sigh leaving his small lips as he half-lies his upper body over the counter, head on his arms. It’s kind of an awkward position because the counter isn’t that tall for someone like him to comfortably lay on, but he doesn’t move until Hoseok finishes talking. 

 

“What does this Jihoon roommate of yours have to do with dyeing your hair?” 

 

“He dyed pink. Like, the kind of pink that punches you in the face. He just broke up with his lover recently and thought he’d do something radical to ‘be reborn as a new and better version of himself’,” he moves his hands as if trying to express how weird that sounds and Hoseok follows the movement with attentive brown eyes, “or some shit like that so I decided I’d act like the very supportive friend I am and accompany him in this journey but now it’s me who’s miserable.”

 

_ Pretty hands _ is the only thing that’s managed to stay in the older’s mind when his customer's done talking. 

 

“Uh… That sounds like you’re not so good at taking decisions after all.”

 

Junhui laughs. “Maybe I’m not, no.”

 

Hoseok turns to grab the usual from the several packets of cigarettes behind him, and when the other has straightened his posture to take the money from his backpack, he takes the opportunity and gently takes the beanie to reveal a mat of golden locks. The formerly raven haired looks up with wide eyes and mouth slightly ajar, the hand that was previously rummaging in his backpack now going up in an attempt to cover his head. 

 

It doesn't really register in Hoseok’s mind that his behavior is most definitely not appropriate, and that he could be sued for harassment or something along those lines; it’s just a tiny nagging voice (that sounds suspiciously similar to Kihyun’s) in the deep back of his mind. 

 

There’s other priorities, like how his customer’s definitely a liar because _holy shit_. 

 

“What the fuck, you look amazing.” It escapes his mouth in a harsh whisper before he can control it, and he’s vaguely conscious of how it sounds kind of breathless. “I mean...” He gulps. “It doesn't look bad at all, or weird for that matter. It… It suits you.” 

 

If Hoseok thought the boy was blushing a little before, he can unmistakably say that he  _ really _ is now. He’s gone back to rummaging through his backpack, now finding his wallet rather quickly, and there's such a pretty pink dusting his cheeks, Hoseok just wants to touch them and check if they're as warm and soft as they look. 

 

“Thanks…” He places the usual amount of money (always quite a bit more than the packet costs) besides Hoseok’s hand on the counter where his beanie lies forgotten and smiles at him softly. “I guess it’s nice to have an opinion from an outsider’s point of view.”

 

Hoseok smiles back, ignoring the feeling that the term ‘outsider’ from his customer´s mouth has left in his chest, and they fall in comfortable silence as the older takes his time to count the change he has to give back. Even though the both of them know he could just take the exact amount out of muscle memory at this point. 

 

 

3.

 

“Didn’t expect to see you this soon,” Hoseok greets when the (now also) blonde boy’s presence is announced by the bell above the entrance. It’s raining pretty hard out there, and the taller has to shake himself a bit to get rid of some of the wetness soaking his coat before closing the door and entering the shop completely. “You have an umbrella, right?”

 

And a soft “yeah I do, don’t worry” is what he gets as a response. 

 

“Who said I was worried?” Hoseok scoffs, feigning indignation. “I was just asking out of genuine curiosity, you know. It’d serve you right to get soaked out there and catch a pneumonia for not taking care of yourself.”

 

The other ( _ Junhui _ , Hoseok reminds himself) lets out a faint chuckle. 

 

“Yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night.”

 

Hoseok looks at him for a few seconds, taking in his incredibly charming smile, his feline-like dark eyes: his straight nose and tan skin, sharp jawline yet full cheeks… It takes a change in Junhui’s expression(from happily smiling to confusedly doing so) for him to realize that he’s shamelessly checking out the younger. He doesn't feel as guilty as the nagging voice in the back of his mind is telling him he should. Because even though he’s his customer and a student, Junhui’s also an arguably mature, very attractive twenty three year old adult and Hoseok has already accepted the fact that he has a crush on his regular customer. 

 

“You forgot something the other day,” he says as if that explained the intense gazing, but the other’s expression just turns more confused. 

 

Hoseok opens a drawer under the counter where the register machine sits and takes out a small card, handing it. 

 

“Oh, my student ID! I didn’t even realize it was gone, it must’ve fallen from my wallet...” He looks down at the item, taking it from the older’s hand then grimacing at it. “Well, that’s certainly not a picture I like other people to see.” 

 

“You look cute, actually. A lot younger too.” The shorter smiles as he says this, elbows on the counter and chin resting on his right hand as the left one fidgets with the corner of a magazine’s pages. 

 

“Stop, I looked terrible. It was already an old picture when I used it because I was in a hurry.” He opens his wallet and puts the ID in its place, taking some money after, and Hoseok sees this as a sign to grab the usual packet of cigarettes and give it to Junhui when the boy hands him the bills. “I think it was taken when I came to Korea? I can't even remember.”

 

“You’re Chinese, right?” The other nods. “Did you come a long time ago?”

 

“Hm…” Junhui looks down pensively and his hand goes up to his lips to tap there, probably a thoughtless habit. Hoseok’s mind however seems to think _ too much _ about it, eyes not losing detail of the action “I came as trainee for some entertainment company, and then after two years I enrolled in university so I guess that makes it five years.”

 

In fact, he’s so lost in it that he doesn't even notice Junhui’s talking until his lips stop moving.

 

“Your Korean is quite good though, I mean, that’s not much time.”

 

And that’s when he thinks, he’s probably hopeless by now. 

 

4.

 

Two days later Hoseok gets the flu, and spends the next two weeks without leaving his apartment, his mother temporarily moving in with him. He  _ swears  _ he was fine after the first week, but his mom wouldn't let him go back to work until she was completely sure his illness was gone and wouldn't come back anytime soon.

 

It was okay though, because he had Kihyun and Hyungwon to take care of the shop and he knew he could trust them, but Hoseok was just  _ so _ bored. He missed the three kids that buy candy every day after school, the old ladies from nearby houses that just want to engage in some conversation with him or buy the casual magazine; heck, he even missed the rude old man that buys the newspaper first thing in the morning, or the half-dead looking businessmen who always bought way too many cigarettes and came back for more way too soon.

 

Most of all, however, he missed Junhui. Seeing him, talking with him, the excitement in the mornings thinking about the possibility of the younger showing up; even the slight disappointment when the bell by the door chides and it isn't him under it. And listen, Hoseok  _ knows _ he’s being overly dramatic, it was indeed a short period of time and he doesn't even know if Junhui’s been to the shop at all in those two weeks(he wouldn’t dare ask his friends, as that’d mean talking about his feelings and Hoseok’s definitely not ready for that) but he can’t help it. 

 

Much less can he help the sudden overwhelming warmth that blooms in his chest when he sees the taller entering his workplace the very same day he’s back behind the counter. 

 

“Hey Hoseok! How are you feeling?” Junhui smiles as he approaches and the older allows himself a moment to take in the younger’s appearance: the blonde locks that fall over his forehead are wet (Hoseok can smell a strong citrus aroma that he supposes is from using scented shampoo), and he's wearing a hoodie too thin for the cold weather outside. Skin paler than usual and dark bags under his eyes don't really help Junhui look any warmer. 

 

“How am I feeling? How are  _ you _ feeling, is what we should be talking about. You look like you haven't slept in days.”

 

“Well, that may be because I actually haven’t slept more than five hours or so for the past few days.” Junhui makes a face and Hoseok notes how his voice sounds lower than usual.

 

“You´re gonna get sick, not resting enough and not even drying your hair properly” Hoseok thoughtlessly lifts his hand to take a disheveled strand of the other´s locks between his fingers and put it in place.

 

“Ah, I came directly from practice, so I didn’t have the time.” His eyes follow Hoseok´s hand dropping back to the counter. “But it´s okay, I´ll just do it when I get-” his speech is conveniently interrupted by a sneeze, and he returns to his words with a sheepish smile, probably imagining the older´s thoughts after what he just told him. “-when I get home.”

 

Hoseok releases a small sigh, although not really bothered. “Wait here while I get you a towel and something warm to drink,” he says leaving his position from behind the counter, “Is tea okay?”

 

“No, i-” Junhui tries to protest, his eyes wide, but the look he gets in response is enough to make him close his mouth without even finishing the sentence. “Uh, yeah. Tea’s fine.”

 

5.

 

After that, Junhui’s visits to the shop decrease both in number and time spent there, also looking more and more uncomfortable; and Hoseok can’t help but feel like he’s done something wrong that made him want to stay away.  _ Maybe he became aware of my crush on him and now thinks I’m a creep? Or he realized I’m just the guy who sells him cigarettes, not worthy of his time. Maybe he goes somewhere else… _ Such thoughts flood his mind, although a more reasonable part of it tries to convince him he’s being a paranoid and the younger’s just been busy lately. It’s not like there was an established relationship between the two of them for it to be neglected in the first place. 

 

“Oh, hello. It’s been long.” are Hoseok´s words when he sees Junhui more than three months after the day he came back to work from being sick. It’s been a few weeks since the younger last came into the store.

 

“Hi.” He gets back, along a smile that doesn't quite reach the other’s eyes. “My flatmate sent me here to buy him a Dunhill so put me that, please.” 

 

Hoseok quickly turns to grab said thing and hands it to Junhui, the latter giving him a few bills in return. The silence that settles while he picks the change is a tense one, and the older male isn’t really sure what to make of it.

 

“And actually,” Junhui talks right after he’s put the money Hoseok just gave him back in his coat’s pocket, “I´m... trying to quit, so…”

 

“Oh.”

 

“I probably won’t come here often, from now on.”

 

“That’s… good for you.” He coughs, looking down and trying to busy his hands, but there’s nothing on the counter for him to fidget with so he settles for his sweater’s sleeves instead. “To quit it now that you’re still young and healthy, you know. Don’t wanna become like those old men who’re already breathless just by coming all the way here from like, a block away or something. Besides, you probably should’ve done it long ago, considering your major and how you have all tho-”

 

“Hoseok-ssi.” It’s only then, Junhui grabbing his hand and making him look up with slightly watery eyes, that Hoseok realizes he’s been rambling. He doesn’t even know why he feels like crying.

 

“I’m sorry.”

 

“No, don’t say that. Actually, it’s me who should apologize, I-” and a deep breath later “-I’m very sorry for avoiding you like that, these past months.” Hoseok can’t contain his tears from falling. “Shit, I- I’m so sorry, Hoseok-ssi, I really didn’t intend to make you cry, oh my god w- why, what do I do-” 

 

“You were actually avoiding me?” Hoseok interrupts Junhui’s panicking.  _ Of course he would, why wouldn’t he.  _ He kinda feels stupid, suddenly crying in front of the other like this, but after all the emotional tension he’s been accumulating related to the subject in hand, maybe it’s only natural for his body to react this way.

 

“I… okay, this is probably going to be like, very awkward for you, but. I kind of, developed some…” he stops talking for mere seconds, enough for his cheeks to dust a violent pink “feelings, towards you I mean, and I just. Didn’t know what to do about it because you’re so out of my league, and probably straight too, so I figured I should get over it somehow. But yeah, that was fruitless.” His gaze that had been roaming over Hoseok’s face is now looking down to the counter where their hands, still clasped together, rest. “It’s just a coincidence that I decided to quit smoking, but because of that I didn’t have much of an actual reason to come here either.”

 

By that point, Hoseok’s already holding his breath. And when he tries to speak, only more tears come. He mentally slaps himself, furiously wiping his face with the sleeve of his free hand and interlacing Junhui’s fingers and his with the other.

 

“Isn’t it stupid how much I missed you?”   
  


“I’m sorry, Hoseok-ssi.”

 

+1

 

“I’m sorry for asking you to come here on your free day, you probably had plans already.” Hoseok comes from upstairs with a mug of warm coffee in hand that he gives to Kihyun when he reaches the store’s counter where said male’s resting his elbows. 

 

“It’s okay, hyung. Hyungwon had to go to his parents’ house and I didn’t have anything to do by myself, so I’m actually glad you gave me an occupation or else I’d be bored out of my mind. Just treat me to lunch sometime and we’re even.” 

 

“His parents still don’t like you very much, huh.”

 

At that, Kihyun stops mid-sip just to glare at him. “Anyways,” he emphasizes the word enough to let it be known the topic’s not up to discussion, before continuing on a regular tone, “shouldn’t you seriously consider hiring someone already? You’ve been going out a lot more these days. Not that that’s a bad thing, because you really worked an insane amount of hours by yourself before, but it’d probably be best like that, no?” He takes an actual sip from the mug this time, cursing and muttering about the coffee being too hot and friends trying to kill him.  _ So overdramatic _ , Hoseok contains himself from rolling his eyes.

 

“Yeah, I actually thought about it a lot after we talked the other day. There’s a friend of Junhui’s who needs a part time job so I’ll probably just hire him.” Hoseok looks at the clock on the opposite wall and turns from where he had been with his hips resting against the counter to take the jacket on it. 

 

Kihyun hums, mouth forming a smirk. “So it’s him the reason why you had to call me today, I assume?” 

 

“Yeah, he’s taking me to the studio today, and we’re going to have dinner later, so…” he feels weirdly shy about it, cheeks gaining color under the shorter male’s smug gaze.

 

Kihyun’s already opening his mouth, most probably to try and fully embarrass him, but he’s interrupted by knocking against the entrance’s glass door.

 

“There he is. See you later Kihyun-ah!” Hoseok bids goodbye with a smile, hurrying towards the outside where Junhui immediately holds his hand, and they begin to walk while falling into comfortable conversation.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> [Twitter](https://twitter.com/IciaPc) • [Curiouscat](https://curiouscat.me/yullaby)


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